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I’ll be smoking one Monday on my Weber Kettle.
Using the snake method, how much wood chunks/chips should I put on top of the coals and where?
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Do chunks, also depends if you’re going “crutch” it (wrap in foil) at around 165 or not. Is this your first time doing up a butt? If you decide to wrap, make sure whatever rub you’re using has formed a nice bark and has passed the “Scratch test” before wrapping it. That’s where you check the bark in a couple places with just the tip of your finger nail to make sure the bark is “set” (hard) all around. It will soften out if you wrap. Once you wrap it there is really no need to add more wood chunks for smoke as it will be in foil.
If you wrap it, it should drop the length of time for cooking down by a couple hours but in my opinion it’s better if you don’t wrap. My 8lb butts usually take me aprox 16hrs. However, I’ve had them take less. If you do your butt and wrap it, it may be done between 8-10hrs depending on the size. I factor in 1.5hrs per pound as a way of guesstimating when it will be done. However, go by internal temp and not just time. If you’re wrapping, a whole large snake if constructed right may last you the whole cook. However, it’s more likely you will have to add more towards the end so at that point you just put handfuls at the end before it burns out doing more of a minion method. Don’t forget about a water pan. When I do a snake I usually put my chunks spaced out evenly throughout the snake, but I don’t wrap. So you may only need to do upto half of the snake. These days I use a Slow n Sear generally most of the time.
Don’t be afraid of stalls just be patient, and don’t forget to adjust your vents to keep it at 225 (or as close to it as you can).